I have the same happening to my Showmaster. The bulblet is inside of the outer layer of the mother bulb. I wouldn't worry though. If I have to, I will just slid that one layer open and remove the bulblet. The outher layers dry out sooner or later anyway.

Just make sure the offset has enough of its own root system and its own piece of well-developed basal plate before you remove it, which is easily seen if you wait as you suggest until you repot.

As far as what you call it, offset and bulblet are the same thing, which basically means a new bulb developing from the basal plate, and this is how Hippeastrum does it. If you dissected that baby out from between the layers, you would find that it is attached all the way down to the basal plate. The only difference between it and the little bulbs you often see at the bottom is that it grew and developed leaves while it was still inside the living layers of the bulb - as Soultan says, the outer layers are continually dryng out and as they peel away the offset will make its way to the outside, which is when it will start growing its own separate root system.

I've got a bunch of them with offsets of various sizes right now. Some I will leave to grow as clumps (love the way the miniatures look grown as clumps), others I will separate at some point and make gifts to my friends.

- Steve

Thanks to you both! I understand now, why it looks different than the other little bulblets that are growing on a few of my other large bulbs... The outer skin on Minerva is a lovely, healthy green, and it feels very thick and firm. Minerva is an older bulb... I've had her for about 7 years, or more! The outer layers of her skin are very slow to turn brown and peel away; I haven't had to remove any dead layers for about a year!

In spring, I'll un-pot Minerva and take a closer look at the baby... if it has roots and its own little basal plate, I'll separate it.. if not, Minerva will be a "clump plant"! I, too, like the way they look when they form clumps, especially the smaller varieties...

My concern is cutting into Minerva to remove the baby, and leaving a wound that could possibly begin to rot... even if dusted with fungicide. It just seems like the baby is another sprout on Minerva, and not its own entity, by the thickness of the skin layer covering them both! I hope you know what I mean!

Anyway... I'll not worry about it until spring. Perhaps by then, a layer will peel away and it'll look a little different.

I remove babies all the time. They just simply break down sometimes without much effort, even if I just try to repot. I have never had a mother bulb that got sick from the break down spot.

That's good to know, Soultan... I worry about rot, especially after having to do surgery on Amalfi so soon after potting it up.

I worry a lot, don't I? Geez... maybe I need to take "happy pills" or something! :-)

You and Tünde would understand each other so well. She is my friend from Hungary. The worrysome one. Not that I have any more. :o)

You have plenty of friends, Soultan... I absolutely count you as one of my friends! I think you have more friends than you realize... you're too hard on yourself! :-)

If Tunde worries about things that she shouldn't, then she's like me... I tend to worry even though I know in my mind that whatever it is will work out fine. I just can't help it... I think it comes with being a mother!

Jodic...Cinnamon, powdered sulphur or Captan can be dusted on the baby's and mommy's wound to seal it. Let dry for a day or two and then plant.

Cool post, my Apple Blossom, which has yet to bloom for me is develoving a bulblet ant is is growing nicely, I will leave it grow until I repot the plant. Thanks

I like to leave the babies on the mommy as long as possible, since they develop finer that way, but if they come off, I don't consider it a tragedy. I just try to make the best of it.

Thanks, Maria! Ever since you let me in on the cinnamon thing a while ago, I've used it quite liberally... I lightly dust all bulbs being planted, and it certainly saved the life of my Apple Blossom! Time will tell whether or not it helped save my Amalfi, but so far so good! Who would have thought that a kitchen spice would have such wonderful properties and be so useful?!

Plus, it makes the pot smell good.

Yes, it does! All my Hippis are cinnamon scented!

It is the Hollidays anyway, so now you just have to put some apples around them.

Mmmm... my favorite snack... sliced apples and peanut butter! Either Fuji apples or Cameo apples... and the PB must be Jiff creamy! I'm hungry!

Gotta go... gonna slice me an apple and find the creamy Jiff!

:-)